I just got back from 3 days in Las Vegas at the Shot Show, so I was itching to shoot.

Loaded up my jeep and headed out to a private outdoor range. I brought along my recently purchased HK Benelli M1S90, the Kimber Warrior, my Glock 21, and Glock 19. All of which were a hoot to shoot. Just two FTFs in the Kimber on the last rounds, which were to be expected.

Just a little disclaimer about my background, training and experience. Six years USMC, qual'd Rifle Expert multiple awards, PMI Coach (Marksmanship Coach), machine gun instructor (50 cal, MK19, M240, M249, M60E3). Seven years LE with department issued M16. But I by no means consider myself a guru or expert. In 1994, I was a 20 year old Corporal in 1st Marine Division, the last thing I wanted to do was buy my own AR, when I despised the one I was issued in the Corps.

The Superior Arms S-15 is one of my many receivers that I possess. I put a Bushmaster 16" M4 Upper on top, a Knights Armament RAS II, with Tango Down foregrip, a Bushmaster LPK, Bushmaster carbine stock, an Eotech 511 Holographic sight, Bushmaster 10 round mag and Sport Conversion mag lock kit.

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y238/bodyarmorguy27/s-15-3.jpg

The lower took me about an hour to put together.

I just used a brass hammer, some punches, the grease that Bwiese has been raving about, some tape, an allen wrench for the pistol grip, and a whole of attention to detail and patience. I noted that the safety selector switch wasn't as tight or crisp as my issue M16. The SA safety selector has a little bit of play. (I noted at SHOT that all of their rifles did.)

Everything else fit fine, except the upper which required some brute force to fit together. The ending result was a fit with no side to side wobble. But it require slapping the stock downwards while holding the upper to get it to open. It wore down enough to where it doesn't require the "scissor slam" to get the selector pin in.

I set up a target at about 50 yards to zero my Eotech. I need to purchase a BUIS to set on the back, since the standard carry handle won't work with the RAS II. I will eventually put an Aimpoint on to this rifle. So I aimed center mass and fired the first shot of three. I used Winchester Q3131a 5.56mm 55gr BTW.

That first shot was like the first time I shot an M16. I didn't know what to expect until I heard the BOING. I was pleased that everything was functioning. The trigger reset has a little different feel and sound than what I'm used to. Not saying that its bad or anything.

It was hitting dead center in the head. With some adjustment, I was bringing it down in the 10 ring.

The Eotech gets some getting used to. As your eye moves around the reticle moves. You have to trust it I guess. I didn't know whether to move my eye or the rifle at first. I tried shooting both eyes open and my non-dominant eye closed. Each way worked fine. It worked especially well when I was doing 15 yard failure drills; two to the body, one to the head.

Things I noted:

Not much, the rifle worked great. I only fired about 50 rounds. I just wanted to make sure everything was functioning. It was a pain having to break it down "shotgun style" to load it, especially with a vertical foregrip. I hope that if SHTF at work, I don't try and break my issue rifle down "Shotgun Style" and try to load it.

Out there in the sun, I wasn't worried about my upper receiver matching my lower or what brand of receiver I had. I was just happy to be firing a Cali AR that I could call my own.

Pointers: (I guess I could go into a little more detail on each.)

Natural Point of Aim; if you don't have it... get it. Move your body, not the rifle. Try to relax every muscle in your body.
How do you get it? Get into your shooting position, whether it be standing, sitting or prone. Bring the weapon onto target, look down your sights and align it on the target. Close your eyes. Relax all your muscles. Take a normal breath, exhale normally and pause. Open your eyes. You will either be left or right of the target. Adjust your body, shift your hips, turn your feet and repeat the above. When you open your eyes and you're dead on target, you'll be dead on every shot.

Cheek weld; make it the same every time. I like to stick my nose to the charging handle so I know its the same each shot. If you can, try to melt your cheek into the stock. How? By shouldering the weapon and resting your cheek on the stock. Then drive your cheek down onto the stock, until you almost feel molded to the stock. Relax your facial muscles. With carbine stocks, make sure your stock is set to your body. I like to pull mine out all the way, then bring it in one.

Breath Control; Inhale normally, exhale (normally), pause, then squeeze the trigger. Repeat. Try not to hold your breath for too long, it starts affecting your body. If you can't take the shot, breathe again and repeat the above steps.

Trigger Control; Take up slack, squeeze. Strive for the surprise break. Ease enough to let trigger reset, then squeeze again. Avoid wasting time by pulling in slack again. If you can master the trigger reset, you will be able to press shots faster and more accurately, especially in rapid fire or double taps.

Follow Through; Press the shot, call it (center mass, to the right, high, etc.), get ready to press another shot. If not taking another shot, then relax. Don't look at the target after each shot. What do you achieve by calling the shot? You know whether you hit the target or not without going down range and looking at it. It instills confidence in knowing your sights. When you know you dicked up your sights and trigger press, you won't have to go down range to know it.

Front Sight! Clear, target blurry. (like DULLYJAY said, get your skill with irons first). Just like anything you must master the basics. Cut the target in half with the front sight post, keeping the target blurry. Get proper sight alignment with the rear sight. Keeping it blurry as well and the front sight centered in the rear.. I feel I could shoot more accurately in daylight out to distances of up to 500 yards with irons. Nighttime, forget it, you can barely see your sights.

Dry fire or snapping in This will help you tremendously. Take an 8x10 piece of paper, draw a small dot (about 1"x1") or silhouette on it with a marker. Hang it up on your wall. Get about five to ten feet away and into your shooting position with your rifle. Check, double check, triple check that your weapon is not loaded. Even if you know its unloaded, check it again. There is no such thing as a accidental discharge, they're usually negligent.

Practice all the above tips and dry fire. You can use snap caps if you want. I do it for hours sometimes, taking short breaks. It pays off tremendously at the range. After so many rounds of shooting live fire, you will probably start to anticipate or jerk the trigger. When you notice this, start dry firing to break your body out of it. Before I go to train or qualify, I will usually dry fire the night before. This also perfects your shooting position.

And lastly, get yourself some Breakfree CLP. It's inexpensive and its proven to work. What else cleans and lubricates so well??

Time to go clean my guns.

Questions? Fire away...

ten-tenths

02-12-2006, 10:37 PM

sounds like an awesome weekend. thanks for your report and tips!

Prospector

02-12-2006, 10:43 PM

Glad you spent some quality time with your .223.

DULLYJAY

02-12-2006, 10:43 PM

No back-up iron sights in the rear? Glad you had fun.

tenpercentfirearms

02-12-2006, 10:45 PM

Holy Crap! I just realized I drove to Las Vegas and back and I didn't take any of my lowers with me and try them out! WTF was I thinking? Oh well, that just gives me another reason to return.

bodyarmorguy27

02-12-2006, 11:09 PM

No back-up iron sights in the rear? Glad you had fun.

Its definately on my to-do list. There are just so many to choose from.

Holy Crap! I just realized I drove to Las Vegas and back and I didn't take any of my lowers with me and try them out! WTF was I thinking? Oh well, that just gives me another reason to return.

Especially with all that wide open desert between here and Las Vegas?

shopkeep

02-12-2006, 11:24 PM

Thank you for posting the range report, fantastic build. First build I've seen on the Superior Arms, it's a beauty!

Jicko

02-13-2006, 7:46 AM

Front Sight! Clear, target blurry.

Questions? Fire away...

Thanks so much for your tips! It is so nice to have someone, like yourself with lots of experiences, to give out tips for newbies like us.

1 question, you are using the EOTech, how to "focus" on the front sight?
And how to "focus" on the EOTech dot? I really need some pointers as to how to use the EOTech efficiently....

DULLYJAY

02-13-2006, 9:41 AM

Thanks so much for your tips! It is so nice to have someone, like yourself with lots of experiences, to give out tips for newbies like us.

1 question, you are using the EOTech, how to "focus" on the front sight?
And how to "focus" on the EOTech dot? I really need some pointers as to how to use the EOTech efficiently....
Put dot on target. SHOOT:D . Keep both eyes open. You don't have to line the dot with iron sights. For newB's go iron 1st. KISS

bodyarmorguy27

02-14-2006, 1:26 PM

Thought I would post a pic of the target I used to zero the rifle.

The shot holes are as I moved the Eotech sight down. My groupings were a little off while I got used to the moving reticle, which took a little while to trust. The circled parts are my last two groups of three that I shot. I want to take it out and shoot out to 200 or 300 now.